acquisition

Today Intel has announced that they'll be acquiring a drone company by the name of Ascending Technologies. This is a small company, just 75 people large, and Intel suggests that they're sending offers to the whole lot to join the company. Intel suggests that they are no discussing product roadmaps or financial terms at this time. Ascending Technologies is a German company that appeared at last year's Intel/Brian Krzanich keynote at CES 2015.

Activision Blizzard, the gaming giant behind the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft franchises, is believed to have purchased Major League Gaming (MLG), the e-sports organization, taking over "substantially all" of its assets in a $46 million acquisition. According to a report from eSports Observer, which says it learned of the deal through documents related to the sale, the deal was approved by MLG's board of directors on December 21st.

Talko has been acquired by Microsoft, the company announced in a statement today. Talko is a self-described business team communications app, and it’s fairly new to the industry, having launched a little over a year ago. According to Talko, it has been acquired to improve Skype and Skype for Business, though precise details about what that means haven't been stated.

Apple has acquired Faceshift, the startup behind motion capture technology used to capture facial expressions. The tech has been used for theatrical projects, not the least of which is Star Wars, as well as games. How Apple plans to use the technology isn't known, though some speculate it could be part of a virtual reality project. Past rumors claimed that Apple would acquire Faceshift, something the company has only recently confirmed.

Just a few weeks ago, fashion brand Fossil unveiled a new series of Q watches, including the Android Wear Q Founder. It seems, however, that that isn't the end of its smart wearable plans. Perhaps inspired by the recent outing of luxury smartwatches, like the TAG Heuer Connected, Fossil has announced its acquisition of Misfit, one of the more known names in the wearable market, particularly in smart fitness bands. By joining forces, Fossil hopes to expand its portfolio to embrace the growing number of wearable devices in the market today.

Microsoft has announced a plan to acquire Secure Islands, confirming recent rumors that have cropped up. Secure Islands is an Israeli security company offering “advanced information protection solutions,” says Microsoft, and through the acquisition it will help Microsoft business customers secure their sensitive data. Secure Islands is already used by some big name companies for data protection, including Vodafone.

Fly Labs, a video and photo editing startup, has announced that it has been acquired by Google. Says the startup team, they will be joining Google — in particular, Google Photos — in the company’s Mountain View, California headquarters. Exactly what the team will be doing for Google isn’t stated, though they did drop a couple hints, saying among other things, “Google Photos is … a perfect match for what we built at Fly Labs."

Despite the prevalence of computers, keyboards, and touch screens, the way of the pen hasn't completely been erased from mankind's culture. It has even found a way back into the digital world, thanks to smartphones and tablets with styluses. With the upcoming arrival of the iPad Pro, that niche space will become even more tighter and the competition for the pen even fiercer. Times like these, it pays to often consolidate your assets and seek allies, which is probably why Livescribe and Anoto are finally becoming one.

It seems that there is a new gaming empire on the rise. Activision who, thanks to its acquisition of Blizzard in 2008, now owns hit titles such as Call of Duty, Warcraft, StarCraft, Guitar Hero, Skylanders, and, of course, Destiny, is now adding one, or two, more to that list. It has just announced that it is acquiring King Digital Entertainment plc. While that name might not ring a bell, it's game might. It is the maker of Candy Crush Saga, the game that has a massive plummet of productivity worldwide.

It seems the ultimate digital storage products company has just been formed, as Western Digital has announced its acquisition of SanDisk for roughly $19 billion. With its wide range of hard drives and solid state drives (SSD), Western Digital is already the world's largest manufacturer of digital storage items, while SanDisk is seen as the third largest flash memory companies in the world.

Digisfera, a company that specializes in panoramic image technology, has been acquired by Google. Digisfera announced the acquisition on its website, and Google has likewise since confirmed that it bought the startup, though it hasn’t disclosed the terms of the acquisition. Says Digisfera, it is “excited” to join Google’s Street View team, hinting at Google’s planned uses for the team.

A new record for the world's largest technology acquisition has been set today, as computer manufacturer Dell has confirmed the ongoing rumors that it has purchased EMC, a cloud and data storage company, in a deal worth $67 billion. Dell founder Michael Dell is said to serve as CEO and chairman of the combined company. The deal seems to be Dell's attempt at gaining a foothold in the data storage and IT markets, as its consumer computer business has long been on the decline.